Crimson Scars
by StephTaichou
Summary: The shinigami had lost hope- they had all resigned themselves to their fates: they were going to die. And they did. That was until a certain captain-turned-shopkeeper created the impossible, and sent Kurosaki Ichigo back in time to attend the Shin'o Academy and stop Aizen before any of the Winter and Blood Wars happened. May add pairings later, spoilers for the manga. {Time Travel}
1. Chapter 1

Crimson Scars

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Bleach. Tite Kubo does.

Chapter One

Ichigo eyed Urahara's shadowed face in shock, searching for the smallest sign that the sentence he had just spoken was, in fact, false. Unfortunately, he found no such thing. Instead he saw the shopkeeper's eyes staring at him intently, as if he were expecting Ichigo to talk. He wanted to, but he couldn't seem to make his mouth work correctly with his brain, leaving his jaw gaping wide open.

"Well, Kurosaki-san?" Urahara asked the shocked substitute, shifting his hat slightly with his right hand. He was definitely not expecting Ichigo to accept his request with pleasure, but this- maybe his request was a little too farfetched. It seemed that Urahara had unwillingly left Ichigo in a temporarily paralised state.

A rustle just outside the room they were currently kneeling in indicated that they had some little spies, probably Ururu and Jinta- but he was expecting them to be there. After all, they weren't exactly the most well-behaved children in the world.

Ignoring them, Urahara turned his attention back to the shocked strawberry. Realising that he wasn't going to be speaking too soon, the shopkeeper rose from his kneeling position with a sigh, picking up his sealed Zanpakutō on the way. Just as he reached out to slide open the delicate paper door, he heard a voice.

"Fine. I'll do it."

"Ah, Kurosaki-san, I see you have used your resolve."

"That has nothing to do with it, bastard."

––––––

Minutes later the pair were in the basement of Urahara's temporary hideout in Soul Society, Ichigo staring at a strange Garganta-like object that was supposed to be sending him back in time while Urahara stood at the base of it, supporting his weight on his Zanpakutō. Ichigo had his two Zangetsu, one sheathed on his right hip while the other was strapped securely on his back.

"Now, Kurosaki-san, the mission is just like I explained it before. You must travel back in time and stop Aizen from ever obtaining the Hogyoku. The optimal plan of attack is to destroy Aizen- in other words, you must kill him. If this fails, you may use any other method you happen to want to use. Kurosaki-san, if Aizen dies, the whole Winter War debacle will have never happened. It is highly likely that the Quincys will never attack. At the very least, they will postpone their invasion by at least a decade. This will give us time to attack the Quincys ourselves. History will be drastically changed, Kurosaki-san; it is all up to you."

Ichigo nodded, understanding the shopkeeper's words completely. They were presently missing several captains, vice-captains and seated officers, all of which had died during both the Winter War and the Quincy attack (or as the Gotei 13 called it, the Blood War). Then the inevitable occurred; Yamamoto-soutaichō was defeated in battle. Even with former 8th division captain Kyōraku Shunsui in his place, the ex-soutaichō's death caused many shinigami to lose hope- everyone had seemed to have accepted their assumed fates: they were not going to survive.

"Don't die, Kurosaki-san!" Ichigo ran towards the portal, smiling at the supposed 'encouraging comment'. As he reached the entrance to the object, he jumped into the unknown, and let the blackness engulf him as he was hurtled through time.

–––––––

Ichigo woke with a jolt, a pleasant blue sky greeting him as his eyes snapped open. His muscles ached in protest as he sat up and rolled his neck, cracking it painfully.

Putting his head in his hands, he acknowledged the dull throb in his temples with reluctance.

Wait- what had he been doing last night? Had he been drunk? No, no, no, no! He was underage- Ichigo groaned as the events of his meeting with a certain captain-turned-shopkeeper rushed back to him. Why had he agreed to this in the first place?

Oh right, if he pulled this off he could save the world.

The thought of being a hero was once a foreign one to Ichigo. He preferred to blend in with the crowd, be the bystander that cheers on the winner. If he drew unnecessary attention to himself, people would notice him, and would only hurtle snide and rude comments at him. Although he never showed it, this hurt him greatly. Being a hero only brought bad things, and being hurtled back in time was obviously one of them.

Looking around, Ichigo took in his surroundings. He was lying on a tall, luscious green hill, under a tall Sakura tree. This annoyed him. It reminded him too much of a certain noble, one that he all but wanted to encounter.

Looking down the hill, it seemed that his resting place was overlooking a Rukongai district. It was most likely a less fortunate district; he could see the dirty slums and children in rags running from less fit adults. Perhaps it was the 78th? He had once visited that district. Rukia had taken him there while showing him around Soul Society. This place was meant to be heaven, a peaceful place for souls to rest after they died. Instead they were living in trash heaps, depending on stealing food to survive.

Clambering to his feet, he made his way down the hill to the village. Although how much he didn't want to enter the dirty slums, it was his only hope in asking someone where the Seireitei was. He needed to get there- he needed to stop Aizen!

His momentary rush was rudely interrupted by a voice he never hoped he would hear again.

"Yo, King."

||||||||

Urahara smiled as Ichigo disappeared into the hole, the Garganta-like portal closing up behind him. He felt a sense of pride in his heart, but not for himself. He was proud of Ichigo. Urahara had never admitted it, but over time he had grown quite fond of the substitute shinigami, and had come to the conclusion that he thought of him as a son.

Urahara, caught up in his thoughts, failed to notice the figure slipping into his basement.

The shopkeeper was stabbed through the chest, a cold Quincy's blade piercing his heart. He still had a proud smile on his face as he fell to the ground, his old and weary hat falling off and floating to the ground before him.

There lay Urahara Kisuke, the last shinigami to have been killed. Everyone in Soul Society was now dead- all except one.

––––––––

Ichigo brushed off the many stares he was receiving from the citizens of the 78th district in Rukongai. After all, it must have not been often that they saw a shinigami, especially one with a shock of orange hair. He also didn't have the time to deal with them- before he had come down the hill he had sworn he had heard his inner hollow's voice, but he hadn't heard it again since, and had ignored it. It must've been his mind playing tricks on him; although he now wielded the Hollow's sword, his less polite counterpart was still locked away in the very depths of his soul.

"Buy your water! Clean, fresh water!"

"Hand-picked fruit all the way from the 2nd!"

The sound in the village was completely occupied by shopkeepers advertising their products- other than that, it was silent, many of the less fortunate people slumped outside of houses, not uttering a sound.

Making his way over to a small fruit stand with a nice-looking soul occupying the counter, Ichigo decided to make a start to getting to his destination; the Seireitei.

"Oi, do you happen to know where the Seireitei is?" Ichigo frowned when he didn't get a response. "Oi!"

"He doesn't talk much."

Ichigo jumped in fright, his right hand flying up to where one of his Zanpakutō should have been, but instead he clutched air. His panic was short lived as he remembered he could just materialize his swords. They must have disappeared during the time travel.

"I'm talking to you, doofus." Ichigo turned his attention back to the speaker. It was a rather tall girl (but not as tall as Ichigo) with shoulder-length brown hair and dark purple eyes. She was wearing a dark red kimono that was in surprisingly good condition.

"Oi! Have you finished checking me out yet?" Ichigo's eyes jumped back up to her face. He blushed as he realized it must have seemed like he was a pervert (he preferred not to associate himself with that title, but unfortunately Kon had other ideas while in his body).

"Oh-no, no... Uh... It's not like that... I mean, that's a nice kimono..." Ichigo stuttered, scratching his head guiltily.

"Why thank you!" she said, smiling widely at him ('She didn't notice; is this girl mentally impaired or just plain dense?') "Wait a sec- are you heading to the Seireitei for the Shino Academy tryouts? Your kimono looks like a shinigami's, but you don't have a Zanpakutō."

Tryouts- for the Shino Academy? Ichigo was hopelessly confused, but he decided to play along.

"Uh- yeah."

"Well, I'm goin' too." She stuck her hand out. "Moeruyama Tenshi."

Ichigo stared at her hand until she noticed his message and withdrew her outstretched hand.

"Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Awh, you don't do handshakes? How un-gentleman-like of you." She said brightly. This girl seemed to be unnervingly optimistic, and although Ichigo wasn't usually the type to associate with optimistic people, he felt like she could become a person he could trust in the future.

"Anyway, let's go."

"Uh- pardon?" Ichigo stared at her in surprise- she had just met him and already she thought that he was comfortable enough to travel with her?

_"You should go, Ichigo."_

_'Oyajii!' _Ichigo thought excitedly. But then he realised (with sadness) that this was not the old, imposter Zangetsu- it was the real Zangestu. Somehow, he didn't feel like the real Zangestu was supposed to be there, that he shouldn't familiarise himself with him.

_"I can hear what you are thinking, Ichigo."_ Oh, right. _"I should say that I am not the old Zangestu. However, I am still a part of your soul. You must learn to accept me."_

Ichigo stayed silent.

_"On to other matters, this girl- she mentioned enrolling in the Shino Academy. You should too- how are you going to make contact with Aizen if you are not an official Shinigami?" _

Ichigo actually thought about this point that his Zanpakutō spirit had just made- it also might be for his own good. After all, he had no knowledge of Kidō and his fighting style could use some extra tips- all he would have had to do would be to suppress his reiatsu and not demonstrate his true ability. He would be placed in the first year, and first years should not have two Zanpakutō, let alone one and above captain-level reiatsu.

"Hey! You coming or what?" Ichigo was startled by Tenshi's loud voice piercing through his thoughts.

It was now or never. "Uh, yeah."

Ichigo set off towards his destination; the place where it would all end.

––––––––

Thank you so much for reading the first chapter of Crimson Scars! I'm sorry, it won't be regular updates eg. every week and such. I will try to update as regularly as I can, but my life is incredibly busy.

Update: Many reviews have been saying that there are many other stories like this output there, and that they hope that I make it original. First of all, this is the first time travel story I have seen that takes place during the Blood War arc, and secondly, I have something VERY big planned. Let's just say that Ichigo will not just be associated with the shinigami.

Anyway, please let me know what you think of the story so far by leaving a review on your way out :)

~StephieUzumaki


	2. Chapter 2

Crimson Scars

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Bleach. Tite Kubo does, and last time I checked my name was **not** Tite Kubo.

Chapter Two:

After a full two days of eager travelling (mostly on Tenshi's part), Ichigo and his newfound companion finally reached the first district of Rukongai. The first was a busy and wealthy place, and was a striking difference to the poor slums of the 78th. It was here that the majority of the noble houses situated, and it was also one of the Seireitei's surrounding villages. From the streets you could see the heavy-built walls that enclosed the city, and the tall buildings inside.

There was a feeling of familiarity in the substitute's heart as he saw the city that, in his time, had been in ruins now standing huge and proud. Although he had no sentimental attachment to the place where many of his friends lived (or will live? Ichigo was hopelessly confused), he held respect towards his friend's home.

"That's pretty damn big," Ichigo heard Tenshi exclaim as she stared in awe at the city. It seemed that she had never visited there before (which was not surprising due to her status) as she was way too excited _not_ to be a first-timer. To Ichigo the Seireitei was just plain old Seireitei. It wasn't the working place of the most powerful people in Soul Society that could crush you with raw reiatsu, it was an annoying up-itself city where some bastards he really hated were based. He shuddered at the thought of Zaraki Kenpachi, the large, intimidating man laughing in his mind, sword brandished.

Pushing his thoughts to the side, he looked around for Tenshi, the girl seeming to have disappeared from her original position next to Ichigo. He found her with her hands hugged up to her chest and running towards the nearest gate to the Seireitei, squealing with excitement. She ran into the shadows of the walls, the dark encasing her even though the structure itself was still a fair distance away.

"Come on, Ichi-chan!" Kami. The girl was getting too close for comfort, not necessarily physically, but emotionally. It reminded him of Yachiru. Unfortunately the small pink-haired vice-captain had been defeated just before he had left, the news reaching Urahara's temporary base almost instantly.

Fixing his usual scowl onto his face, he reluctantly strode towards Tenshi, careful not to unconsciously use shunpo. The speed restriction bothered him little though as he had not been able to manipulate his reiatsu at all while in his material form.

Ichigo's scowl melted into one of confusion as the brown-haired girl abruptly came to a halt, her attention suddenly stolen by yet another 'ever so wondrous' sight.

"What the hell are you looking at?" Ichigo asked impatiently, not bothering to look at whatever was intriguing Tenshi.

"What the hell do you think I'm looking at? Are you blind?" Ichigo huffed in annoyance at her implication.

"If anyone's blind, you are, you annoying-"

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Two ants that want to enter the Seireitei."

Ichigo's eyes widened, an unknown feeling welling up inside of him. He slowly moved his gaze upward until he came in eye-contact with an extremely familiar face- Jidanbō. The huge monkey-like shinigami was leaning against his Zanpakutō, a smug grin plastered on his face as he peered down at the two small figures far below him.

In normal circumstances, the substitute would have simply rolled his eyes at the monkey-man's obvious arrogance and given him a good whack on the head for his bothersome antics, but these were no normal circumstances- Ichigo was looking straight into the eyes of a dead man.

"Heh, one of the ants is scared of me. That's normal; you literally_ feel_ the power radiating off me. Even vice-captains tremble in my presence…"

Ichigo took no notice of Jidanbō's arrogant ramblings; he simply stood in shock at the thought of the dead being alive again. His friends, all the deceased shinigami- he would able to save them! The thought of Rukia, unscathed and not fighting for her life- it gave him hope, a purpose for fulfilling his mission.

"J-Jidanbō…" Ichigo finally managed to say, his previous thoughts shoved into the back of his mind.

"Oh look, one of the ants is well educated. But of course, you wouldn't have to be educated to know my name. The legend of the mighty Gate Guardian roams far and wide, no being unaware-"

"Shut up, you lumbering buffoon," Ichigo sneered, slightly smirking upon hearing Tenshi snort in the background, "We can all sense that I have more reiatsu than you do."

Jidanbō finally shut his mouth, instead focusing on glaring at the strawberry with fiery intent. Ichigo glared right back, his bright amber eyes meeting Jidanbō's. After a few seconds of Tenshi confusedly wondering what the hell the two males were up to, Jidanbō unexpectedly starting laughing, much to Ichigo's disapproval.

"Uh-Ichigo, are you right in the head?" The said shinigami turned to instead glare at Tenshi, whose face held an expression of amusement.

"I sure as hell am, you little bi-"

Ichigo was cut off by Jidanbō muttering lone comments, the huge man only falling deeper into his pit of laughter. "Ah, more reiatsu than me… What a joke…"

By this point, the substitute was hopelessly confused. In this confusing past, the plausible theory would be that the majority of shinigami that existed in his present would be considerably weaker. If that was so, why was one of the more torpid shinigami commenting on Ichigo's apparent lack of reiatsu? Unless…

"_You are correct in that aspect, Ichigo."_

Upon hearing the spirit's voice, the substitute's eye's narrowed slightly, and his posture straightened frigidly- he could not bring himself to trust the old man. Something about his presence put Ichigo on edge; he could not afford to blindly trust his 'new' Zanpakutō.

"_From the moment we arrived in this time, I have sealed your reiatsu, as to not arouse suspicion. Any amateur would pass you off as nothing, as far as your detectable reiatsu level goes."_

Ichigo stayed silent, wishing for the voice to leave his head. After a few seconds of mental silence, he heard a low sigh, and suddenly it felt like a weight was suddenly lifted off his body, his posture once again falling into a dishevelled, nonchalant slump.

"A-are you okay… Ichi?"

"Huh?" Ichigo's vision focused, seeing both Tenshi and Jidanbō looking at Ichigo with some form of concern of their faces.

"I-it's just that you suddenly seemed alert, and your eyes glazed over- is something bothering you?"

"Nothing of your concern."

Tenshi gave Ichigo a suspicious leer, getting an impatient side glance from amber eyes in return. The brown-haired girl was taken aback by the sudden change of demeanour from the apparent teen (who ever knew in Soul Society?), but she didn't prod further, instead making a mental note to question him later.

"Excuse me, would you just let us in please? We're here for the Shino Academy tryouts, and we would much prefer not to be late," Ichigo informed Jidanbō, causing Tenshi's concern to just grow due to his abnormally formal phrasing- it was almost as if he was suddenly trying to prove himself superior to others…

Ichigo, in the meantime, was even confused by his own actions- it was as if he subconsciously trying to reign over Zangetsu. _No, I need to stop,_ he told himself, casting his eyes to the ground as Jidanbō strenuously heaved the gate open for himself and his companion, _This is not right. I must not lose trust in him yet…_

He kept his eyes cast down to the ground below even as he passed through the gate and into the Seireitei, Tenshi not far behind. He was worried about his actions beforehand, but he shouldn't have been letting it affect him. Oh well, he could not change his past.

Shoving his chin up, his gaze focused on the path ahead, he plastered on his signature frown and called out to Tenshi.

"Come on, hurry your ass up. We haven't got all day you know." Tenshi slightly tensed, her sudden change not going unnoticed by Ichigo. He knew she was suspicious of him; why else would she suddenly drop her cheerful personality? He would have to clear it up later, but for now; well, he had an academy tryout.

**Thank you for reading this chapter!**

**First, I've got quite a few apologies to make.**

**I'm sorry this took so long to write, I've had testing all this month!**

**I'm sorry that this chapter is very short- this scene was REALLY hard to write, and I would prefer to put the tryouts in the next chapter.**

**I'm sorry that the quality of the chapter isn't good. Well, to put it blandly, it's terrible. I'm currently sick with a stomach bug, so the nausea is sort of getting in the way of any good writing.**

**Ichigo was very OOC- I have a reason for this, but I felt I made him a bit too much so… Oops, I probably shouldn't of being thinking of Lelouch while writing this chapter…**

**Anyway, fighting scene(s) in the next chapter, my favourite! Thank you for the reviews I got last chapter! (Oh, and Shadewolf7, I have really taken your review into account- see if you can spot my little Easter egg in the next chapter!)**

**Please review, it will only make the story better!**

**-StephTaichou (change of name, haha!)**


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